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Gaza and Beyond: Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab World
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Jyoti
1:06
Hello and welcome to a panel discussion on 'Gaza and Beyond: Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab World'. The panelists are Shai Feldman, Khalil Shikaki, Abdel Monem Said Aly and Nabeel Khoury and the discussion is being moderated by Elie Rekhess.
1:37
Elie Rekhess, the moderator, begins the discussion with a question regarding the Gaza War that he addresses to all the panelists after introducing them. He says the discussion will then proceed to four major topics i.e. sectarianism in Arab states, political Islam and post-war Israel.
1:38
Rekhess poses the first question. Who won the Gaza war or rather, who lost the Gaza war?.
1:41
Khalil Shikaki answers that Abbas lost the Gaza war because he and his party lost  their legitimacy. Shikaki says that this happened because Abbas's way of diplomacy and negotiations is not trusted.
1:45
It is Hamas's way that gained public support, including of those in the West Bank. Abbas paid the price by losing his ability to compromise as public support for a compromise has gone down. Shikaki says that if one looks at what Abbas said at the UN about the events in Jerusalem a couple of days ago, it becomes evident that Abbas came out as the big loser.
1:47
Abdel Monem differs from Shikaki's perspective and says, "War is not a beauty contest to be won on public opinion. I think Abbas is the winner." Monem attributes it to Abbas's achievement of having changed the political equation between him and Hamas and the polls that came after the war showed decreased support to Hamas.
1:49
"I think Egypt won because it came back to the sea. Also two of its competitors lost - Qatar and Turkey.", says Monem.
1:50
Did Mahmoud Abbas loose his legitimacy in Gaza?
Yes (100% | 1 vote)
 
No (0% | 0 votes)
 
Maybe (0% | 0 votes)
 
Total Votes: 1
1:51
Monem refers to the losses incurred by Islamic fundamentalism as further proof of Egypt's victory. "It lost in Egypt, it lost in Gaza and hopefully, it will lose in Kopani.", says Monem.
1:54
The moderator says that the panelists will return to the question of Islamic fundamentalism in a bit. Rekhess says "For some reason, Israel was not mentioned, but Shai, I'll give you the pleasure."
1:56
Shai Feldman says that he is on neutral ground and believes that "Between Israel and Palestinians, I don't think there was a winner, I don't think fundamentally anything can change." The war has not changed the situation in Gaza, but only brought marginal concessions- with respect to what goes into Gaza, with respect to war, who can fish in territorial waters etc.
2:00
"The tragedy of these 51 days of fighting is that nobody has actually gained.", says Feldman. As compared to the previous encounters, this fighting has made the resolution of the conflict more difficult because it increased the concerns of the Israeli population regarding national security. "It makes the Israeli population think, rightly or wrongly- If this is what happens as a result of Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon, what would happen if we withdraw from the West Bank," explains Feldman.
2:06
Is Islamist fundamentalism waning away from the Arab world?
Yes (0% | 0 votes)
 
No (0% | 0 votes)
 
Total Votes: 0
2:07
Nabeel Khoury pitches in saying that he thinks that the conversation sounds like a debating contest. He adds that war is about death and destruction. 10 to 11 thousand homes were destroyed in Gaza,1 lakh people lost homes and the death toll is between 2000-2500 on the Palestinian side. Khoury believes that Israel won by crushing Gaza but Israel gained nothing from it.
2:10
Khoury opines that Abbas's crime and punishment produces a political stalemate and no solution. Khoury predicts that Hamas has gained short-term popularity, but the Palestinians in Israel will start being critical of Hamas again. He believes that Egypt has failed in negotiating between Hamas and Israel.
2:13
Khoury hopes that though Abbas's new UN strategy is useless in the short term, but he is going to gain moral support in the international community in the long term. Khoury also adds that US is the biggest loser at the political level, as there is no initiative from their end right now.
2:15
The moderator takes the discussion to the issue of sectarianism and the future of the the Arab territorial state. Rekhess poses the question, "Is this the end of geopolitical structure of Middle East? Is this the end of artificial boundaries? What is the future of the Arab territorial state?"
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